Protective effects of 2′,4′-dihydroxy-6′-methoxy-3′,5′-dimethylchalcone against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in hepatic L02 cell

2′,4′-Dihydroxy-6′-methoxy-3′,5′-dimethylchalcone (DMC) is a chalcone isolated from the buds of Cleistocalyx operculatus (Roxb.) Merr. et Perry, and the hepatoprotective effects of DMC on Kunming mice have been studied in previous study. However, the effects of DMC on hepatocyte toxicity and corresponding mechanism remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective mechanism of DMC in human hepatocytes (L02) treated with H2O2. The results demonstrated that pretreatment with DMC effectively protected H2O2-induced cell viability loss, cell membrane damage (lactate dehydrogenase, nitric oxide production and caspase-3 accumulation. Besides, DMC pretreatment increased the amount of glutathione, decreased malondialdehyde and the percentage of apoptotic L02 cells compared with only H2O2 treated group. Taken together, these results indicated that DMC had hepatoprotective effects against H2O2-induced liver injury by alleviating oxidative stress and apoptosis process in L02 cells, and DMC might be a potential candidate for the intervention of liver diseases.